Rachel Hartdegen, Campus Carrier staff writer

This week, Student Activities hosted Holidays in Krannert, a Berry event that began in 2013. 

Holidays in Krannert is a week of holiday-themed activities to lead students into finals week. These events include holiday cards, a gingerbread house competition, ornament making and festive music. 

According to Kerrie Dalrymple, the office manager of the Student Activities Office, Holidays in Krannert began as a way for students to have fun before finals and has continued throughout the years. 

“This is for people to get ready for the holidays and to feel at home,” Dalrymple said. 

Before Holidays in Krannert officially started in 2013, the Student Activities office held small holiday events to engage the students. Once Dalrymple saw the impact of these events, she decided to create a week-long event that has lasted for six years. 

This event acts as a way to engage students and make Berry a home for those who miss theirs, Dalrymple said. 

At its beginnings Holidays in Krannert relied on volunteers that worked in the Student Activities Office. This year was the first year that a committee was created for this. The committee includes student workers senior Hannah Norman and junior Bryce Nethery. Norman and Nethery have volunteered for Holidays in Krannert the entire time they have worked for the Student Activities Office, so they said they are happy to be in the committee. 

Holidays in Krannert has five events, one for every day of the week. The activities in these events are determined by what was most popular the year before. The gingerbread contest returned this year, according to Nethery, by popular demand. Nethery explained the competitive spirit around the gingerbread house contest and how passionate the participants are. 

“I will go upstairs and everyone will hide their gingerbread houses just to make sure I wouldn’t steal their ideas,” Nethery said. “People just get so into it.” 

Holidays in Krannert’s events don’t just bring the holidays to Krannert. According to Norman, it is also an opportunity to decorate the dorms for Christmas. 

“I use Holidays in Krannert as a way to decorate my room for Christmas,” Norman said. 

Nethery also explained the importance of this celebration as students need to de-stress and prepare for finals. He said that after Thanksgiving break students need the motivation to get through finals. 

Holidays in Krannert is a tradition at Berry that makes an impact, Dalrymple said, and it’s one she wants to keep. 

“We just want people to feel at home and comfortable,” she said.